


Nightmares

by YuriSenpai



Series: Hogwarts AU [2]
Category: Love Live! Sunshine!!
Genre: Comfort, F/F, Hogwarts AU, Nightmares
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-20
Updated: 2019-07-20
Packaged: 2020-07-09 14:51:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19889641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YuriSenpai/pseuds/YuriSenpai
Summary: Sleep has been an issue for Dia for a while now, and Kanan and Mari are trying all they can to help her get a better night sleep. It doesn’t normally go to plan.





	Nightmares

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by @apricalicos hogwarts AU and set in my 'Magical Misadventures of Kurosawa Ruby”

An earsplitting screech jolted Mari from her slumber, causing her to shoot upright. The room was chilly and the thin sleeping bag did little to project Mari from the coldness, but that didn’t matter.

Writhing in her sleep on the hard floor next to Mari, Dia was screaming. Her face was contorted in pain and her hands scraped the dirty stone floor of the hidden cubby hole. Dia had long since broken out of her own sleeping bag and instead thrashed around in the dust. Her long fingers had left grooves in the dirt and it collected under her nails.

Kanan was sat upright, opposite Mari, rubbing her eyes and squinting towards Dia.

It took Mari a moment to register, but once her mind clicked into place she dived on Dia, shaking her and trying to hold a hand over her mouth. Kanan soon joined her as they half-cradled, half-restricted Dia in their embrace. Dia's nails were sharp and scratched Kanan's bare arms as she tried to restrain her, while her legs kicked out and caught Mari's jaw. 

Mari stumbled backwards with the recoil, but wasted no time in pouncing back onto Dia. 

“Dia! We’re here! Wake up!” Kanan tried to sound soothing as she muttered into Dia's ear, but it was hard to keep the panic out of her voice.

They were working with limited time.

Either they woke Dia up, and quietened her before prefects and teachers came running or Dia would continue to cause a racket resulting in their discovery and would get disciplined - which would limit their activities together. Even though it was hard to hear with Dia's screaming, Mari swore she heard voices nearing.

Leaving Kanan briefly to hold the struggling Dia, Mari lunged for her sleeping bag. Tipping it upside down, her wand clattered to the floor. Wasting no second, she waved it in a very familiar pattern and whispered 'silencio' under her breath. 

While there was no difference in Dia's erratic movements, they were at least free from her petrified shrieking. Mari once again abandoned her wand and rejoined Kanan in holding Dia. 

There were definitely voices.

No longer having the freedom to whisper comforting phrases to their friend, Kanan and Mari had to opt for silence as the footsteps rapidly approached their hiding spot. Kanan was hovering over Dia with her knees either side of her torso, her ankles crossed over Dia's legs to prevent them from kicking out and she pinned Dia's wrists using her hands. While Kanan was strong, it was difficult to keep Dia under control when she was so violent in her nightmares.

Quickly, Mari shuffled close to Dia and took her hands from Kanan. To an outsider, the restriction of their friend seemed cruel and uncalled for, but it was the only way to make sure that Kanan, Mari and Dia herself were all safe from the unpredictable fits.

“Hello? Is anyone there?” A teachers voice could be clearly heard, very close to their hiding spot; the entrance to their small cubbyhole was just under the stone stairs to one of the towers, it didn’t take much poking around before it was easily discovered, but it was difficult to spot at just a glance.

For a few minutes the teachers stood and discussed the sound, before then agreeing to investigate further the next day. It was unsurprising that they reached that conclusion - for Dia's nightmares had persisted badly for months, and no leads had appeared to the teachers as to what the source of the suspicious nightly screaming was.

As the footsteps passed and voices faded into the night, Dia slackened under Kanan and Mari. The two instantly released her, knowing that the sudden limpness signalled the end of Dia's fit. Kanan sat back on her heels and reached for Dia's torn sleeping bag to drape back over her, while Mari shuffled closer so Dia's sweaty head lay in her lap. Gleaming and rimmed with terror, Dia's tired emerald eyes flickered open in the dimly lit room. Her mouth opened and closed silently, but the despairing expression and the floods of tears seeping down Dia's cheeks displayed clear pain even without the sound.

Dia shuddered and sobbed, her whole body shaking as her chest heaved in an attempt to catch her breath. Kanan's hand found its way to Dia's freezing hand and interlocked with the tense fingers. With Mari gently stroking her damp forehead and running her fingers through her sticky hair and Kanan's comforting humming, Dia found herself being brought right back down, reassured and comforted. Of course, the fear of her nightmares didn’t disappear, but was instead subdued.

Finally satisfied that Dia was settled enough, Mari waved her wand once again and the soft gasps and pants could be heard from Dia's mouth. 

Somewhat calmed, Dia sat up and tried to struggle away from the two, but was weak after the shock of nightmares and could barely keep herself sat straight.

Mari tangled her fingers back into Dia's hair.

“We’re here, you don’t need to worry.” Kanan leaned in and took Dia's softly hand once again, “how are you feeling?”

At that point, the questions were just customary and both Mari and Kanan already knew how Dia was feeling. The brunette didn’t bother to answer and instead just accepted the gentle reassurance from her friends. Mari stretched for the water bottle she kept close, and offered it to Dia. Mildly, Dia took a small sip. She didn’t feel like much.

Their sleeping arrangements had been strange since near the start of their second year, when Dia first started to have trouble sleeping. It wasn’t nightmares at first, just lots of tossing and turning and dealing with unsavoury thoughts; but being sandwiched between Kanan and Mari did help her sleep better and they had managed to find a small space within the castle for them to sleep together. Unlikely friends as they were - a slytherin, a hufflepuff and a ravenclaw - they were as close as close could be; their friendship had run deep and been thoroughly tested over time. It wasn’t until returning the Hogwarts the previous year that Dia had started having such awful nightmares.

With them being banned from each other’s common rooms, they definitely had to seek out alternative arrangements to allow them to sleep next to each other. The room of requirement had been an obvious choice, but after being caught there and off guard they figured it wouldn’t be wise to do it again, thus leading Mari to discovering the small cubby hole. It was placed under the stairs, and could only be accessed if you were to squeeze right under and place a wand onto a certain stone. It was a nifty little place, not big enough to stand up, but plenty wide enough for the three of them plus a few select belongings to spread out. They never left too much in there, for if the cubby were discovered they didn’t want to leave any pointers about who was using the space, but the three decided that leaving a nest of blankets and sleeping bags wouldn’t be a major giveaway. It was lit by candlelight, though a small stone could be dislodged in the wall to allow for natural light to flicker in from the outside during the day. 

“Ah, Mari... your lip...” 

Mari raised a hand to her busted lip. When she brought it back down, her fingertips were damp with blood. 

Kanan dug around for a tissue to dab at the bleeding mess, while Dia hung her head low, ashamed of what she'd done to hurt her girlfriend.

“Don’t feel bad, Dia,” Mari muttered. Her voice was slightly muffled by the tissue Kanan was pressing to her face, “It was an accident, they happen sometimes.”

That didn’t make Dia feel any better, but Mari had gotten bored of cleaning her face up, and the bleeding seemed to have subsided. The three of them shuffled back onto the sleeping bags and nestled themselves in together, intertwining their limbs and showering each other with kisses.

Now fully returned to her usual self, Kanan and Mari allowed themselves to come close to Dia. There was little chance of her hurting them now she had calmed, and they shuffled right in so they were touching.

There wasn’t much hope of sleep anymore. It took forever to fall asleep on the hard floor, even after having to sleep on it for so long, but after Dia woke them with a nightmare, it just sent them all on edge.

On the nest of sleeping bags and pillows the three of them cuddled close and lay back into the comforting mess. Legs tangled in two directions, Dia was in the middle with her face turned to Mari on her right. With an arm loosely slung around Dia's waist, Mari gently rubbed Dia's back through her sweaty pyjama shirt. Her breathing was evening out, but she still shook. Kanan’s lay to the left and peppered comforting kisses across Dia's neck and scarred jawline. She hesitated for a moment after kissing the deep ridge. Dia stiffened. 

“What time is it?” She asked shakily. 

Kanan withdrew her lips and twisted around to grab her watch.

“Nearly four thirty.” She breathed lightly, ditching the watch and rejoining the Dia sandwich.

“We should go back now. We might as well now that we're awake.” 

Mari's firm hands held her in place, but Dia tried to struggle upwards.

“Just give it a bit longer. We still have hours before anyone has to get up - you could still get some sleep,” Mari said lightly with a gentle smile. Dia hesitated.

“A little longer then.” Dia relaxed back into the embrace.

They always returned to their beds before dawn. Of course, their arrangements were less than ideal. They had to leave the dormitories once everyone was asleep, and return before anyone awoke. Dia and Kanan were prefect, so they could get away with being up at strange hours to of the night, but Mari didn’t have an excuse.

Birds could be heard rising outside of the castle, singing a cheerful song as they set about their day, while the three girls huddled together, hoping for a brighter future for themselves.

**Author's Note:**

> ya they’re gay


End file.
